During family fight, man knocks out brother-in-law with ashtray, police say

During family fight, man knocks out brother-in-law with ashtray, police say

A 34-year-old man swung a machete at his brother-in-law Wednesday night during a family dispute in Allentown and then knocked him out with an ashtray, according to court records.

Miguel Santos Jr. of Allentown was upset that someone gave one of his young nephews a BB gun and confronted Angel Ortiz Jr., his wife's brother, at 6:39 p.m. Wednesday in the 300 block of East Susquehanna Street, according to court records.

According to court records:

During the confrontation, Santos punched Ortiz and then went downstairs and grabbed a machete. Others in the home took the machete from Santos and told him to stop or they would call his parole officer.

Santos grabbed an ashtray and swung it, hitting Ortiz in the face and another man in the arm. Ortiz was knocked unconscious and woke up to see Santos standing over him and threatening to kill him.

Santos ran to the backyard after police were called. A police officer said he saw Ortiz with blood on his shirt and holding a bloody towel to his head. The officer said Ortiz had a deep cut on the right side of his upper lip.

Santos was charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats and two counts of simple assault. He was arraigned Thursday by District Judge Michael Faulkner and sent to Lehigh County Jail under $25,000 bail.